Summary: Everyone has someone they look up to – an idol; it's only natural for Gai to expose his team to his inspiration. Lee & Gai centered with Tenji sprinkles

dreaming.sapphire: Alright! Legend has been officially EDITED as of: July 13, 2008! I found lots of mistakes in this story and I was disappointed in the quality of it. I hope everyone enjoys this new and improved version of Legend. Leave a review if you haven't and thank you all reviewers!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Legend

It began on November 30th

November 30th

-X-

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY YOUTHFUL PROTÉGÉ!" Gai proclaimed with unrivaled vigor as he gave Lee his infamous Good Guy pose; followed by a 'tearful' (read: disturbing) hug with a sunset backdrop. Tenten and Neji stood off to the side, already used to this sort of behavior from their team mate and Jounin teacher. Tenten sighed, hanging her head low in exasperation – all taken in the wrong way by the birthday boy. "I am so sorry delicate flower of Team Gai! I did not mean to ignore your beauty and bloom!" Tenten felt her back crack at the bone-shattering hug she received as an apology. "D-don't worry about i-it," she awkwardly patted his side; her arms were forced down because of her position. "Lee," the deadpan tone of their stoic team mate disrupted the moment, "You're going to crush her." Lee immediately let go, tears running down his cheeks as he held Tenten at arm's length. "Dear flower-" he began but was cut off when Neji tossed his present in Lee's direction; Lee of course caught it with his reflexes before the package could fall.

"Ahah, it seems Neji is jealous with all the attention you are bestowing upon our blooming flower!" Gai guffawed, fists on his hips and head thrown back. Neji's eye twitched in further annoyance. Lee, with innocent big eyes stared up at Neji, "There is no need to be jealous, eternal rival! For no woman shall ever interfere in our friendship! As Kiba has once told me: bros before hoes!"

"LEE! SUCH VULGAR LANGUAGE!"

SMACK

-X-

"Now my youthful sun flowers!" Neji and Tenten's eyebrows twitched at their new names. "I will present to you the greatest Taijutsu master of all time!" With a wink at Tenten, Gai continued, "Dearest flower, try to control your salivating when you see the beautiful creation of the gods! He is, after all, the one to inspire my good looks and wonderful spandex!" Lee's eyes shined, "I can only dream of being Gai-sensei's idol!" Tenten only stared, sarcastically replying, "I'll try, Gai-sensei; I'm not sure if I'll be able to resist." With a booming laugh, the video began to play.

A man was seen, dressed in a yellow spandex body suit with a black stripe and the physical features greatly resembling Gai's. The difference was the man looked much more natural with narrowed eyes, thick, but not ultra-thick, eyebrows and a hair cut resembling a bowl, but not quite. Lee cried out in amazement, Tenten blinked at just how normal he looked, and Neji could only thank God Gai didn't don the bright yellow suit. The man's opponent was 7'2 with dark, tanned skin and an athletic physique.

They watched on, Neji and Tenten not at all that impressed – they could both easily take him down with just plain Taijutsu – Lee wouldn't even have to sweat. At the end of the film, Gai grinned brightly, lighting up the dark room, "And that, my precious students, is the ultimate Taijutsu master of all time!" Neji and Tenten stared, Lee looked a bit confused, but neither said anything. Tenten, wanting to clear the air of perplexity, bravely inquired, "Gai-sensei… What's so great about him? I'm sure each of us could have taken on his opponent easily with our training." Gai could only smile, "Ah, dear flower, this man knew nothing of chakra!" He was met with blank looks. "But every ninja knows of chakra, Gai-sensei," Lee pointed out; Neji nodded in agreement. "Bruce Lee is no ninja, my precious student; he is but a plain civilian – living in obliviousness in the great village Asia."

"How could he do so much without knowing about chakra?" Tenten asked with an eyebrow raised in bafflement. "That is the power of hard work; the ability to never give up. This man could catch grains of rice in midair with his chopsticks, use a one-inch punch to cause a 235 pound man fly back 15 feet, and create his own form of Taijutsu."

"Where is the village of Asia?" Neji queried. "In the far east, unaware of the ways of chakra." Neji snorted; there was no way a man without the knowledge of chakra could perform such tasks. "Che, he's a lie." Tenten could not help but agree, was there really such a man? Lee gasped, "Rival! Gai-sensei would not lie to us! I will bring this Bruce Lee to prove it!" Gai chuckled, "One day you will all understand the power of determination. Bruce Lee is now dead; mysterious causes. He has gone so far for his dreams to achieve his goals; his result is a legend. He proves to everyone, through hard work, one can accomplish anything he so chooses." Seeing how Neji and Tenten didn't look so convinced, he only smiled in understanding, "I may not live forever, but before I pass on, I hope to embed in to your hearts to 'use no way as way and have no limitation as a limitation'. (1) Be remembered for who you are and not what you are. (2) You choose who you become and no one can stop that." Gai told them seriously. So gravely that even Neji couldn't ignore his words.

During the Chuunin Exams, Neji and Tenten were slammed with Gai's words, "One day you will all understand the power of determination,"and they did understand on that shocking day. Naruto's beating proved to them he or anyone could and would accomplish anything his or her heart so desired. It wasn't until the conclusion of the Sound War that the former Team Gai emerged as more than just a team of ninjas involved in the Sound War. Days after the dreary afternoon of Gai's burial, when Sakura curiously inquired what it was their unique Jounin-sensei, Tenten could only smile softly and reply, "Using no way as way and have no limitation as a limitation." She walked away before she could see Sakura's bewildered expression, soundlessly lacing her fingers with her precious teammates.

Even if they weren't a group of survivors from their deceased clan or trained by a famous Sannin, they were content with being the pupils of a wacky Jounin whose sanity was often questioned. Either way, they emerged as legends and thus fulfilling Gai's one wish: to be remembered before they joined him in the afterlife.

Lee now understood why it was he is Gai's most prized student. It wasn't because he donned a green jumpsuit or a bowl-shaped hair cut; but because of his similarities with this Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee could not use chakra because he knows nothing of it – Lee could not mold chakra. Bruce Lee spent his days as a Taijutsu master – Lee lived to be a Taijutsu master. The most important fact was their day of birth.

"When was Bruce Lee born, Gai-sensei?"

"November 30th; that day… a legend was born."

They went beyond their limits. In return – they gained recognition and admiration.

-X-

EDIT: JULY 21, 2008

Ok, how was it? It's my first one-shot but I hope you all liked it. :) And I know it's not Lee's birthday yet but I couldn't help it. XD It was inspired by the similarities of Gai and Lee to Bruce Lee. Lee and Bruce Lee share the same birthday, so I decided to write a Team Gai fic on it. I hope I didn't disappoint any one who was expecting more. :\ Also, the facts that I put in there are true. All of them. I very much admire Bruce Lee, although I can not perform any martial arts. This is dedicated to both him and Lee. Bruce Lee had mysteriously died, so no one really knows how it happened. He was also recognized as one of the fittest athletes who had one of the lowest body fat counts of any athlete.

1) Use no way as way and have no limitation as a limitation: This quote was on the emblem of the Jeet Kune Do symbol; the Chinese characters surrounding the yin and yang sign. This also made because I believe that Bruce Lee was the very symbol of determination and will. He is very similar to Lee's, Rock Lee, beliefs: that you can accomplish anything through hard work. Also, I could not resist the little NejiTen moments. XD But yeah. Leave a review please and tell me how you all liked it.

2) Be remembered for who you are and not what you are: This means Gai wants the three of them to be known for their names and their feats and not for just being ninja. Like, "Oh yeah, Lee was a ninja." "What did he do?" "I don't know." Gai doesn't want that – he wants them to go down in history for their abilities and not just because they fought in whatever wars or battles.

Thank you for reading!

- dreaming.sapphire

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